Ostomy Appliance Wear Time Prediction via Sensor Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ostomy appliances face limitations in wear time due to varying waste collection, adhesion failure, and device rupture or leak, leading to unexpected situations that can be embarrassing and detrimental to health, with existing leak detection technologies only addressing issues after they occur.
Innovation Solution
Integration of sensors in an outer sleeve over the ostomy bag to monitor conditions and events, collecting historical data to predict wear time and potential failures, providing users with proactive alerts for timely bag changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors are integrated into the ostomy pouch to monitor conditions and predict wear time, then the reliability and user awareness of appliance status is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates sensors within the ostomy pouch structure by nesting sensor elements inside the pouch body. The sensors are embedded in the pouch wall or adhesive layer, allowing monitoring of internal conditions (volume, pressure, adhesion) without adding external components. This nesting approach maintains reliability improvement while minimizing complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: detecting pouch fill volume, monitoring adhesion integrity, measuring pressure changes, and tracking wear time. By consolidating these monitoring functions into a single integrated sensor array, the patent improves reliability across multiple parameters without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If sensors continuously monitor conditions in the ostomy pouch, then the detection precision of failure conditions is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system employs periodic monitoring rather than continuous measurement, sampling pouch conditions at predetermined time intervals or when specific triggers occur (e.g., movement detection, volume threshold changes). This periodic action maintains adequate detection precision for failure conditions while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary assessments of pouch conditions using low-power sensors and only activates full monitoring or alerts when predetermined thresholds are approached or failure conditions are detected. This preliminary action approach maintains high detection precision by focusing detailed monitoring on critical moments while conserving energy during normal operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Use of and performance of ostomy appliances are enhanced by providing one or more sensors to an ostomy pouch; collecting sensor data by sensors to form a history of events impinging on the ostomy pouch and conditions of the pouch over time; comparing the sensor data to historical sensor data for a similar ostomy pouch to predict a reduction in nominal wear time; and notifying a user of the predicted reduction in nominal wear time.